https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=406490 Reasonable apprehension of bias can disqualify an appellate authority even without proof of actual bias where a litigant could fairly doubt impartiality. Here, the same officer had earlier decided an identical issue adversely against the same assessee in a connected assessment year and had recused himself in that related appeal; fairness required the same recusal for the companion appeal because no distinguishing features were shown. Hearing the appeal in those circumstances would undermine the appellate remedy and violate natural justice. The objection to bias was therefore upheld, and the orders of the First Appellate Authority and the Tribunal were unsustainable. en-us Mon, 05 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 15 Apr 2021 08:07:18 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=406490 Reasonable apprehension of bias can disqualify an appellate authority even without proof of actual bias where a litigant could fairly doubt impartiality. Here, the same officer had earlier decided an identical issue adversely against the same assessee in a connected assessment year and had recused himself in that related appeal; fairness required the same recusal for the companion appeal because no distinguishing features were shown. Hearing the appeal in those circumstances would undermine the appellate remedy and violate natural justice. The objection to bias was therefore upheld, and the orders of the First Appellate Authority and the Tribunal were unsustainable. Case-Laws VAT and Sales Tax Mon, 05 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=406490